9 Months: Moving on...

Sophia had her 9 mo. check-up last week. Her stats weren't as exciting as they usually are because they were pretty much the same as her 6 mo. appointment:

Weight: 17 lbs. 14 oz. - 35th percentile

Height: 29.5 inches - 97th percentile

Head: 45.5 cm - 90th percentile

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She only gained 12 oz. in the last three months, which wasn't typical for her - up until 6 months she was averaging about 1 lb. each month. He wasn't overly concerned with her numbers, it was just a little different than usual. But, I know that on the days she is at daycare I bring home about a third of the amount of milk that she drinks from bottles while I'm not with her. To me, that says she wants more than she's getting. So, we are beginning the process of moving on from nursing.

It will be a slow process - we're not going cold turkey here, for both of our sakes, but it's definitely happening. At first I felt really bad, guilty, sad, etc., and I still feel a little of that from time to time. However, if we're being completely honest, the emotion that ranks the highest is RELIEF.

I don't find nursing to be that convenient. Just being real - mommy is the only one who can feed the babe, which means you are on call 24/7. It's not always inconvenient, but there are a lot of times when it is. If you're in the car and baby is hungry - pull over 'cuz you can't (okay - you can, but it's complicated!) nurse while baby is in the car seat. If you get a sitter, go out to dinner and give baby a bottle, you still aren't off the hook because you have to pump when you get home. You get my point.

It's starting to sound like I don't support breast-feeding, and I do. I have loved doing it for Sophia and I love the bonding, but there comes a time in every baby's life when it's time and I'm okay with it being time for us to start winding down. Really, I've been struggling with wanting to be done, but couldn't quite justify it. Nursing is free and I figured I would just keep going as long as it was working, so now I feel like I just got Dr.'s permission to start to wean guilt-free.

I've started a list of all the wonderful things that will come from this:

-Daddy can wake up first!

-All those great sundresses I want to wear that don't accommodate nursing(well, without flashing the world) - I'm bringing them out ASAP!

-I will no longer be supporting Lansinoh's company with all of those freezer bags we've been buying for the last 9 months.

-I've started putting away some of the Medela bottles and accessories since I won't be pumping as much, which is making it much easier to keep the bottle area of our cabinet organized.

-I WON'T BE PUMPING AS MUCH! HALLELUJAH!

I'm sure there will be more benefits as we go along. One nice thing is that I thought I might drop one or two feedings in the summer so I stocked up on formula last fall (no worries - I checked expiration dates, and all are safe), so once we run out of the frozen milk and start formula, we won't even have to pay for it for at least month, maybe longer.

***UPDATE***

I wrote this post last week. Let me just say I'm starting to see some of the conveniences of nursing as it fades away. Saturday during her 4am feeding, I was very happy that I wasn't thawing milk or mixing up a bottle - that would wake me up too much. Then, Sunday, I forgot to bring a bottle to church, so she had to wait until we got home - she made it just fine, but it could have been disastrous!

So, I guess, either way, we won't have freedom until she's one and is on sippy cups. Hmm...really? Because then I have to make sure to remember the sippy cup...